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Late Autumn 2018 MIND MOON CIRCLE Journal of the Sydney Zen Centre Very Late Autumn 2018 oh dear beginner ... Mind Moon Circle: Winter/Spring edition The next edition of Mind Moon Circle, will be exploring the theme Resonance. The great Japanese poem, The Take of the Heike, begins, The tolling of the great bell of the Gion temple resonates with the insubstantiality of all things. Bells point us in the direction of Awakening and Resonance illuminates the bodhisattva path. At his recent transmission, Allan Marett was given the name, Resonant Cloud (Kyô-un) But bells are important in many other contexts: in various parts of the world, bells mark the location of animals; bells are central to music; there are the school bells of our childhood; the bells that mark the passage of time. And things resonate not just in the world of sound, but also within the mind. Allan’s transmission teisho on Yunmen’s Golden Wind, which will be published in this edition, explores resonances between Aboriginal Law and the Dharma. Let your creative bells ring forth and let us know what Resonance means for you. Please send your poems, stories and artwork to co-editors: Jillian Ball: [email protected] Janet Selby: [email protected] by October 7th 2018. Temple bells die out. The fragrant blossoms remain. A perfect evening. Matsuo Basho 2 ere is the Autumn edition of our MMC journal. You may have noticed, I am referring to it as Very Late Autumn 2018. I apologise for blending Autumn into Winter. Things just got in The Way. Never - the - less it is here. And it's wonderful, Hwonderful. Small collection of Zen morsels to savour. The theme for this edition was something like Writing a letter to a beginner including yourself. Somewhat experimental as we welcome numberless newcomers into our Sangha. Warm Thank You to all contributors. Thank you Ross Bolleter for submitting haiku by John Turner. There is a small selection on the following pages. It comes from John's recent collection titled Observe the Changes which gathers up the best of John's work over many years, as well as many new poems. On the cover is Tilly, Coote's new puppy. Maggie took this wonderfull photo. The pedigree of the other two dogs is unknown to us. All we can say is they look very accomplished compared to Tilly who is just starting out. An absolute begginer. What a beauty! Also included in this edition are Ten Ox Herding Pictures* and verses and commentary by Kuòān Shīyuǎn (12th century); translated by Senzaki Nyogen (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895-1990). *Pictures are contemporary version, series of woodblock prints by Tokuriki Tomikichirō (1902-2000). I hope you enjoy it. With love and gratitude, Ameli. Sue Bidwell 8 Peter Bursky 30 Gillian Coote 20 Maggie Gluek 24 Sally Hopkins 6 Sean Loughman 11 Brendon Stewart 15 Ameli Tanchitsa 39 John F. Turner 4, 18, 42 John F. Turner sober~ I bow with gratitude to the moon 4 The Search for the Bull In the pasture of this world, I endlessly push aside the tall grasses in search of the bull. Following unnamed rivers, upon the inter-penetrating paths of distant mountains. My strength failing and my vitality exhausted, I cannot find the bull. I only hear the locusts chirping through the forest at night. Comment: The bull never has been lost. What need is there to search? Only because of separation from my true nature, I fail to find him. In the confusion of the senses I lose even his tracks. Far from home, I see many cross-roads, but which way is the right one I know not. Greed and fear, good and bad, entangle me. 5 LETTER TO Sally A BEGINNER Hopkins o - a toe in or everything wholeheartedly thrown in? It makes a difference. You can do an occasional paddle about in the shallows and nothing much happens, maybe some nice feelings. Thrown in S- it’s a lifetime’s practice. It wont increase your self-esteem, make you a better You; there will be times of difficulty, confusion and despair. Slowly, oh so slowly, if you trust the process, the heavy veil of your misconceptions will thin, get holes in it . The dark shadow of “me” as so far understood will sometimes be absent and the whole world will light up. Even good teachers can’t save you from your mistakes. On my first sesshin I did as directed. I did not look around (I saw about 6 of 40 fellow students) . I earnestly counted my breaths. I was ‘good . (“I”) At the same timeI kept up a steady stream of thoughts. It was years before I started to get a grasp of the meaning of ’non-dual’ in zazen. I was expecting something complicated, not simple. A slow process, an endless process. The stream of thoughts can become a roaring river, and so much is truly embarrassing when noticed. “I’m doing pretty well” “Did they notice me?” “I’m bored” ”Does that person know more than me?” Self-referrential, comparing,“me me me”. After a while this becomes comical, so laughter is the only possible response. You might quarrel with the language, the ritual - though in time they open out, words becoming fingers pointing, ritual very helpful. Don’t read too much at first, especially Pop type books. The temptation is to try to make happen what you have read. Acting from an idea in your head is useless. Sit every day. Sit. Practice can be boring. Painful. Don’t give up. Let things be as they are. Keep going. Keep going. You are in the process of dismantling a house, not building a new one. It is painful relinquishing certainties to which you have clung in an unstable world - though our certainties are usually precisely the bars of the prison. Sit with others - you can lead yourself astray, and when things seem chaotic, the stability of old timers is supportive. Go to dokusan. Don’t chatter about it, or theorize. Laughter helps. Everyone has their own path, and it is usually in the opposite direction from what you had imagined. Trust the mystery. Keep looking. Keep sitting. ‘The things of the world are just as they are: the gates of liberation are open.” 6 Discovering the Footprints Along the riverbank under the trees, I discover footprints! Even under the fragrant grass I see his prints. Deep in remote mountains they are found. There traces no more can be hidden than one's nose, looking heavenward. Comment: Understanding the teaching, I see the footprints of the bull. Then I learn that, just as many utensils are made from one metal, so too are myriad entities made of the fabric of self. Unless I discriminate, how will I perceive the true from the untrue? Not yet having entered the gate, nevertheless I have discerned the path. 7 ZEN PRACTICE – WHAT’S THAT? hat's Zen about? Why do it?" ask friends occasionally. To say that it helps me live my life, and helps Wme face death is true, but sounds a bit like a trite instruction manual on 'How to get through the years between being born and dying'. What’s more, it doesn't touch the breadth and depth and intimacy of my zen practice, both on the cushion and in daily life. And I have no real answer for why I began this journey in the first place, other than to say that a spark was lit when I read Peter Matthiessen's book 'The Snow Leopard'. 'What on EARTH am I doing here?' Initially, while sitting zazen at Annandale, this question would pop up out of the blue and I’d wonder why I was sitting there on a cushion with aching knees instead of being at the movies. Sometimes I’d tediously review the day’s activities, plan the next day, do a draft email or two…on and on…Or I'd contemplate what everyone else was doing. ‘What's happening in there, in that space between their ears? How can they sit so calmly?’ Then, over time, the curiosity and willingness to look inwards rather than outwards became stronger. And when I let go of the chatter, there was space and a sense of calm and an awareness that being there was 'right'. So I kept returning... and the 'rightness' keeps getting stronger. In the beginning, the ritual side of zen provided another challenge, as it seemed unwarranted, unnecessary. Mostly I'd be content with 'just doing it', but then there'd be occasional antsy times when I’d tell myself 'I don't have to do this! I can just go somewhere else where there's no ritual'. Liking…not liking. Wanting this…not wanting that. Picking and choosing clearly in evidence! Instructively, without any conscious effort, those thoughts just faded completely away. Now the rituals are an integral part of my practice. 8 Sue Bidwell Koans bewildered me to begin with, the language making no sense, despite all my efforts at making sense of them - and I did try hard! But with great patience the teachers have helped in pulling the rug of rational thinking out from beneath my feet. And koans now open me up, transform me in a deep and intimate and inexplicable way. So, gradually but steadily, there is greater freedom and lightness and ease in every aspect of my life. In Wu-men’s words “At the very cliff edge of birth-and-death, you find the Great Freedom. In the Six Worlds and the Four Modes of Birth, you enjoy a samadhi of frolic and play”1.
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